Lakewood moratorium will allow city to inventory number of businesses selling alcohol

LAKEWOOD - Khanitha Chareunsouk says too many business are selling alcohol in the city. Of course, her opinion might be biased.

She and her husband have owned Mr. & Mrs. Liquor Market near the intersection of Del Amo and Bellflower boulevards since 1977, and their business has dropped, she says.

"There are too many liquor stores. When they opened, our business went down," she said.

She walks outside the store and points toward the south side of Del Amo Boulevard.

"There some over there and more over there," Chareunsouk said. "How many do you really need?"

She might not realize that Del Amo Boulevard is the divider between Lakewood and Long Beach, so some of those liquor stores are in Long Beach.

Lakewood, with a population of 85,000, has 28 licenses allowing the sale of beer and wine at convenience stores, said city spokesman Bill Grady.

The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control recommends a maximum of 32 for a city of Lakewood's size.

Still, the City Council wants to look at the issue more closely, and last week it passed a temporary moratorium on alcohol beverage permits.

The ordinance, approved unanimously, would only affect convenience stores and other small establishments under 6,500 square feet that apply for new alcohol beverage permits. It won't affect restaurants or facilities serving alcohol on the premises.

No one from the public spoke in favor or against the temporary moratorium at the council meeting.

The city passed the moratorium because officials want to inventory how many businesses have alcohol licenses and where they are located, said Mayor Diane Dubois, who initiated the idea.

The temporary moratorium was suggested after a business owner applied for a license to sell beer and wine at a proposed 7-Eleven at the intersection of Bellflower and Del Amo boulevards. The City Council eventually denied the permit, but council members, including Dubois, wanted to know if the city has issued too many alcohol permits for convenience stores.

"We just want to study this issue," Dubois said. "What do we have in the city? We need to know that, and we haven't asked for it."

Dubois said it was best to pass a temporary moratorium because no licenses are pending and it prevents any potential businesses from getting caught in the middle of the study.

During the moratorium, the city will study possible changes to zoning regulations and development standards for future stores, including location and security requirements. The study will include reviewing what other area cities do, said City Attorney Steve Skolnik.

The moratorium will initially last 45 days, but it will almost certainly be extended another 10 months and 15 days, as allowed by state law, since the city won't be able to complete its findings in that short a time, Skolnik said.

The ordinance also could be extended another year for a total of two years, but the city also can rescind the ordinance if the study is finished early, Skolnik said.

Area business residents don't think a problem exists. Arturo Baez, who works at an accounting company in the same strip mall as Mr. & Mrs. Liquor, doesn't think the area has too many liquor stores, he said.